The Federal Way Community Center is approaching its second anniversary, but council members are still questioning how to offer citizens an affordable service without breaking the city bank.

A Jan. 20 conversation about the center’s struggle to bring in revenue, followed by a vote to temporarily hold off on spending money on an approximately $81,000 marketing plan, soon dove-tailed into a discussion about the center’s purpose to the community and the city’s obligation to help fund the facility.

“I think we’re searching for what really is the objective of the facility,” council member Jim Ferrell said.

Conducting a marketing plan was weighed against providing a large annual subsidy to the center, which is still seeing less-than-expected revenue generation. Council member Jeanne Burbidge said the facility was not built to compete with local businesses.

“The intention from the very beginning is this would not be an enterprise facility,” she said.

Council member Dini Duclos countered that even non-profit organizations need to generate revenue to stay afloat and offset expenditures. If the community center does not make money, the council will be forced to keep it operating through annual subsidies. The money is generated by taxpayers.

“At some point we need to decide, ‘Is this a revenue-generating business or a civic service?'” Mayor Jack Dovey said.

Dovey and Deputy Mayor Eric Faison both questioned staff at the meeting as to why the community center could not offer membership deals to attract and maintain pass sales as an alternative to paying for a marketing plan. This is the area most affecting the center’s ability to meet its projected revenue. Daily pass rates for non-member children are $4. Teens and seniors pay $5 to use the center on a drop-in day pass. Adults pay $8. Adults members pay $38 per month to join the center and households pay $61 per month.

“It comes down to dollars and cents and I’m afraid we may be overpriced,” Faison said.

The success of the center relies on operating a facility that provides a service to the community while simultaneously avoiding an undue burden on the city, said Mary Faber, Recreation and Cultural Services superintendent.